[System 12254801, wake up.]
A young boy heard this command deep inside his mind. He frowned, 'What's this strange voice?'
When he didn't hear it anymore, he fell asleep again. Just then, the commanding tone got heavier this time.
[WAKE THE F*CK UP, OR I'LL ANNOUNCE YOU DEAD!]
The youth opened his eyes. He stared at the white screen while lying on a cold surface. That voice, though….
Was it just his imagination?
'What? What is this?' he thought and got up from the ground as he looked around. Everything was white: walls, ceiling, the floor, and even the cold, hard bed.
This should be a hospital….
'But why does it feel weird?' he thought.
The youth frowned as he looked around. His heart twisted, becoming uneasy, 'How the f*ck did I end up in a room without a door?! I was just walking down a dark, cold alley!'
He opened his mouth and called, "What's going on?"
His voice was hoarse, making him feel like he hadn't spoken for a long time. He remembered falling into the ground filled with water with a bare electrical wire floating on the side and being electrocuted.
That event didn't put him in a coma, did it?
"No, where the hell am I?" That's when he heard the same female voice again.
[System 12254801, I'm glad you asked that question. You're in the system world, called Imperium, between the heavenly realm and mortal plane.]
"What the heck? What's the system world?" The youth had a bad premonition in his heart.
'I didn't transmigrate into a fantasy world, did I?' he thought as he licked his lips, 'No, could it be I got kidnapped? But why would someone kidnap me? Dad isn't that rich.'
He shook his head to eliminate unnatural thoughts as he focused on the room in front of him, trying to find some clues. From childhood to adulthood, he had been prodigious at everything he did. Whether it was sports or other studies, he excelled at all.
That made him a bit arrogant. It didn't help that he was an extrovert, famous among his peers. He was the kind of guy everyone would become envious of just by glancing at his face.
So now, even though his palms were sweaty and millions of dark thoughts flashed through his head at the fastest speed possible, the first thing he thought of was getting out of this situation rather than screaming and yelling like other people.
Just then, he heard the system's voice in his head.
[It's a world full of systems.]
"Can you be more specific?" Although the youth had a vague idea about what was happening, he still wanted to get as much information as possible.
[It's a world full of systems.]
Just as he thought, he really did come into a fantasy world. He asked, "No, but what's up with the systems?"
[The beings that live in this world.]
The youth got a headache. He rubbed his forehead as he asked a crucial question, "Am I dead?"
[Yes.]
This confirmed the youth's thinking. He was dead and ended up coming to a system world, "Aren't you supposed to say at this time, like all other mangas and novels, that you'll give me a second chance to live if I pass a mission or something?"
[We don't give unrealistic rewards. Please, ask a logical question.]
The youth rolled his eyes. This place itself was illogical. He grumbled, "Fine. What am I supposed to do here?"
[Become a system.]
"You want to infuriate me to death, don't you?" The youth chuckled darkly as veins popped up on his head. Traces of fear lessened in his heart. He took a deep breath and asked, "Why should I become a system? What will I gain?"
[You'll get to survive and transcend.]
'Transcend?' he mumbled those words in his head as he frowned. If it was survival, he could become a system, but it was easy for this robotic voice to say, 'F*ck! How the heck do you become a system?'
Most importantly, he wanted to know if he could return to living again. If that were possible, it might be the best.
Even though he thought like this, his face remained cold and expressionless. He looked up and asked, "What if I don't want to survive in this f*cking system world?"
[You'll be sent to reincarnate into the mortal plane.]
The youth finally caught some clues, "So if I stay here, I'll get to rise to the heavenly realm?"
[Yes, probably.]
The youth frowned. This was new to him, and he didn't know whether going to the heavens was a good thing or not. He raised his head and asked, "Will I reincarnate as how I was?"
[No. We don't hold the authority to turn back time, and you can't come back to life since you've already died.]
"So I got electrocuted to death," he mumbled as he sighed.
[No, you were still alive but unconscious.]
"Really?" The youth was curious about how he died as he propped up his chin and asked, "Tell me, how did I die?"
[Your body was taken onto an ambulance, but that ambulance had an accident on the bridge.]
"So I died by getting hit by a truck or something?"
[No, the entire ambulance fell off the bride, into the river, but you still managed to survive as a few doctors escaped with you, but by the time you made it onto the shore, you were the only one alive but unconscious. They all died trying to save your life.]
"So, how did I die in the end?"
[You died of a lightning strike. Your body got to an island where lightning would often strike during the rainy season.]
"So, in the end, I really got electrocuted to death."
[In a way, yes. We also have a video. Do you want to watch it?]
"...." The youth shook his head instantly, "No. I don't want to watch that."
He took deep breaths to calm himself down.
Since he died, he couldn't go back to his past life even if he wanted to. Then, he could only continue to try and survive with all that he had. He took a deep breath to suppress the fear in his heart as the screen disappeared. He opened his mouth and asked one more question.
"What's up with the reincarnation then?" It wasn't that the youth wanted to reincarnate, but he might as well get information about other options. He wanted to be sure that the way he chose could promise survival.
[You'll have to pass through the reincarnation river in the hellish realm and forget about your current life. You'll be born in the mortal realm as a new person.]
In short, the youth would forget about who he was! It wasn't a pleasant feeling, so to speak. He was silent for a moment before his lips parted, "Can I still go and reincarnate if I don't want to become a system anymore?"
[We're working on this aspect. Please, have patience.]
The youth wanted to ask another question when the cold voice interrupted.
[You're out of time. Please proceed.]
'Proceed? Where to? It's not like this room has a door,' the youth wanted to glare at the owner of this cold voice, but he couldn't. So he glared at the hard, white floor instead.
Just then, a door appeared just adjacent to him, making him jump in surprise. He stared at that door that had a dark corridor beyond it. His heartbeat increased as his palms became sweaty.
He was indeed scared, but being frightened didn't mean he couldn't get more information about his situation. After all, he was more scared of forgetting his identity after reincarnating than surviving in this strange world. Of course, he would choose to stay here because he didn't want to reincarnate in another world as a newborn baby without any memories of his past.
'What if I end up becoming an animal or something?'
[Don't worry, you won't become an animal.]
"Holy crap! You can read minds?!" free webnovel.com
[No, I know what kind of thoughts you will have from my database.]
This strange robotic female voice seemed to have made sarcastic jokes about him. Heh, good one. The youth suppressed the mixed emotions brewing in his heart as he walked toward the dark corridor.
Since he had already decided, he could only walk into the darkness. After all, nothing could be worse than dying.
Or so he thought.
At this time, he never imagined that his future would become a rollercoaster filled with different emotions, adventures, and even deaths. It was probably a good idea to choose to reincarnate. He wouldn't have to face everything he did after entering the system world.
***
There was a white hall filled with hundreds of doors that appeared out of the blue. One after another, youths, both males and females, wearing white robes continued to enter this space without speaking. Everyone's eyes were filled with confusion.
The only color seen at this place were the varied eyes and hair colors that made the hall a little more alive, but no one talked even a bit.
Except for one person.
The same youth who had started this story earlier in this chapter entered the hall. His silky reddish-brown hair fell on his forehead as he glanced around with his emerald green eyes. In front of him stood a blond youth.
Without thinking twice, he tapped the shoulders of that person. The man didn't move.
"Hey, can I ask you something?" The youth asked the blond guy while tapping his shoulders annoyingly. When the man didn't reply or turn back to face the youth, the latter spoke again, irritating the blond guy, "I'm Shane Cooper. What's your name?"
No reply.
"Are you not?" The blond guy couldn't take it anymore and talk to this overly expressive youth.
Shane shrugged, "I am, but it doesn't mean I can't talk. It's therapy for me."
"You're weird," muttered a girl standing beside him.
[Hello, systems. Welcome to Imperium. You have been selected meticulously after considering your positive karma energy, but you have not been officially hired as a system. You'll have to go through a test. Those who don't want to participate can exit from this door.]
An opened door suddenly appeared. A few people hesitated before walking toward it. In the end, half the hallway emptied before it closed again as the cold voice spoke again:
[Now then, we wish you the best of luck. Try not to die.]
"What the heck? What are we supposed to do?"
"Can't they make things clear?!"
"I want to go home!"
"I think we are supposed to survive. Didn't you hear the last sentence that that voice spoke?"
Shane didn't say anything, but inwardly, he was cursing the female voice to death, 'This goddamn system! What the heck is wrong with this female voice? Can it try not to be sarcastic all the time? I'm going to climb to the top and f*cking teach this thing a lesson!'
Only after cursing the robotic voice did he calm down. While everyone else was hesitating, he was the first to walk toward the door, beyond which was nothing but darkness.
The blond guy stopped him and asked, "Are you not afraid?"
Shane turned to see the man's face pale. He smiled as he placed his hand in his pockets in a calm manner, "What's the point of being afraid? You could have entered that reincarnation door. We have all already died in the most embarrassing way possible. What could be worse than that?"
Of course, he was afraid, but he wouldn't tell this anyone else. For a prodigy, their image in front of others is the most important thing. Shane was the same. He didn't want others to look at his vulnerable state, so he'd deliberately try to act as though he were some cool and arrogant guy at all times.
'Let others imagine that I'm cool and handsome. Hehe,' he thought inwardly.
Sure enough, the blond guy was stunned after hearing those words. Thus, he became the second person who left the room without hesitation.
Everyone was motivated after hearing Shane's words. They suppressed their fear to the depths of their hearts and walked towards the door.
But Shane was so wrong. He regretted not choosing the reincarnation door at this time as he stood on the rough and infertile ground filled with dried trees. Above was a sky filled with blood-red clouds. But none of these things were scarier than what he saw in front of his eyes.
A sea of giant hairy monsters with sharp and big teeth coming out of their chapped lips covered with blood.
This was their test.
'Wasn't I supposed to become some system?! Can somebody explain the situation?!' Shane wailed in his heart.
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